A contestant from 2013’s season of American Idol who was rejected by the then-judges returned this season as a drag queen and the results were surprising. Adam Sanders wowed the new panel of judges this week when he took to the stage as a drag queen (he calls her Ada Vox), and Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan went wild for her performance of “House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals.

“It killed me inside. It killed me almost as much as the people who were telling me that I should kill myself,” Vox emotionally said. .

Richie told Ada after her performance, “We’ve had a lot of artists come on here, talented, but a bit confused. What you are giving us is a clear understanding of who you are, coming in with an amazing amount of talent.”